LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Ditch the vending machines to save your wallet, the ecosystem
TO THE EDITOR:
If you go to any vending machine on Central Michigan University’s campus, there is a good chance you will be shocked that the arguable nationwide standard of $1 water does not apply here. If you would like to purchase a water bottle from any vending machine on campus, you will have to pay $1.75.
While the extra 75 cents aren’t exactly bank breaking, it is quite the nuisance, and I have never felt the desire to pay the extra bit for water. There’s more of an inconvenience with the extra price — forcing students or faculty to pay essentially $2, then try to find a use for a quarter before it makes its way to the washing machine. The rather simple solution would be to replace the current 20 fluid-ounce, disposable water bottles in the machines for the more common 16.9 fluid-ounce water bottles. Using non-name brand water and slightly smaller containers would cut back on university costs for the water bottles, and allow for easier, $1 water to be accessible to students at all the main buildings.
I feel like this is an issue because more often than not, I don’t have a water bottle on me in class, yet I like to keep hydrated and drink water throughout the day. Obviously, this issue could be resolved campus-wide if all students remembered and refilled non-disposable water bottles, but that is simply unrealistic. Keeping vending machine water bottles at the standard $1 that most people expect would allow students to drink water throughout class without having to miss parts of their lecture in order to visit the nearest drinking fountain.
A more pressing example is at the Student Activity Center. Even at the fitness centers on campus, water is still $1.75. Students who forget to bring water, or simply don’t have water bottles on hand, would have to cough up the extra cash, or make trips to the water fountain outside the gym every single time they needed something to drink. Again, this is a major inconvenience for any students trying to keep an efficient workout and stay hydrated throughout.
The small difference in price would encourage students to buy and drink more water throughout their classes and the day in general. All university halls have multiple recycling bins for both plastic and paper both — so students would have easy access to a clean disposal for bottles afterwards. If every student had easy access to clean water at only $1 throughout a campus, all students would be able to stay hydrated and focused throughout classes in a much more convenient and cheap way.
Brett Rogers
Augusta, freshman
